Structure, Adhesion Strength and Corrosion Resistance of Vacuum Arc Multi-Period NbN/Cu Coatings

Abstract

The influence of deposition modes on the phase-structural state, corrosion resistance, and adhesive strength of vacuum-arc multi-period NbN/Cu coatings is studied. It was found that in thin layers (about 8 nm, in a constant rotation mode), regardless of the change in the pressure of the nitrogen atmosphere, a metastable δ - NbN phase forms (cubic crystal lattice of the NaCl type). At a layer thickness of ~ 40 nm or more, a phase composition changes from the metastable δ - NbN to the equilibrium ε - NbN phase with a hexagonal crystal lattice. In the presence of the ε - NbN phase in the niobium nitride layers, the highest adhesive strength is achieved with a value of LС5 = 96.5 N. Corrosion resistance tests have shown that for all the studied samples the corrosion process has mainly an anodic reaction. The highest corrosion resistance was shown by coatings obtained at a pressure of 7·10-4 Torr, with the smallest bias potential of -50 V and the smallest layer thickness; with a thickness of such a coating of about 10 microns, its service life in the environment of the formation of chloride ions is about a year.